NORTH CAROLINA
Christian Times
Jardine Malado
25 JULY, 2017
A North Carolina church allegedly used its branches in Brazil to entice its members to come to the U.S. and make them work for little or no pay.
An investigation conducted by The Associated Press (AP) has found that the Word of Faith Fellowship Church in Spindale, North Carolina used its two branches in Brazil to siphon a steady flow of young workers who came to the U.S. on tourist and student visas.
Andre Oliveira, one church member who was invited to Spindale when he was 18-years-old, recounted that the church leaders confiscated his passport and money when he arrived. He said that he was forced to work 15 hours a day, usually for no pay, cleaning warehouses for the church and toiling at business owned by senior ministers.
“They trafficked us up here. They knew what they were doing. They needed labor and we were cheap labor — hell, free labor,” he said, noting that the church leaders also beat and shamed members who deviated from the rules.
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